Little known tales and lore from Michigan's Upper Peninsula uncover mysteries, curses, and strange beasts in this collection of offbeat and fascinating stories.

That's the best I've ever seen you look," the barber said to the corpse. What kind of filthy decedent could inspire such derision? Learn the answer and read myriad other little-known tales from Michigan's northernmost region in Forgotten Tales of Michigan's Upper Peninsula. Find out what happened after an aggrieved husband aimed a gun at his wife's lover and then asked the crowd, "Shall I shoot him?" Meet the sleeping man who rode the rails without a train. Discover the truth behind the rumors that one mining town was cursed with the ten plagues of Egypt, and learn why hugs terrified an entire city. And what were those hairy, bipedal beasts haunting the woods? Join Yooper Lisa A. Shiel as she brings to the fore these wonderfully offbeat and all-but-forgotten tales from the UP's history.

What comes to mind when you think of North Carolina history? Is it Sir Walter Raleigh, Guilford Courthouse and the Wright Brothers? Or do you think of sea monsters, drunken geese, hitchhiking alligators and a boy with "America" spelled out in his eyes? Throughout its 350-year past, North Carolina has been the site of a vast number of famous historical events. But the history of the Tar Heel State doesn't stop there. Just beyond what's well-known, written about and taught lies a second history, a Tar Heel treasure trove of fascinating characters and extraordinary events that have for decades gone untold or been forgotten. Until now. In this enthralling new book, Roger Kammerer and Tom Painter have compiled a collection of stories on North Carolina history sure to befuddle, baffle and bemuse even lifelong residents. Who knew that a man in Currituck County once traded his wife and two children for a fishing net? Or that the town of Rich Square once counted among its residents a 1,000-pound man? Or that a world champion fiddler from Asheville once fiddled at the White House for the president and King George VI? Or, better yet, that oysters with false teeth were once hauled up from the waters off Morehead City? Forgotten Tales of North Carolina is an incomparable collection of outrageous historic stories that will delight Tar Heels across the state, newcomers and natives alike.

With such a rich and significant history, it's only natural that some of the best stories from the Sunshine State have been forgotten over time. Thankfully, master storyteller and St. Augustine resident Bob Patterson offers this collection of the strangest, most fascinating stories and legends in Florida's history from coast to coast, swamp to swamp. Enjoy the saga of William Ellis, a North Florida nature whisperer who escaped from his nursing home with the help of his varmint friends; step into the murk and mystery of the vanishing tribes of the Everglades; and could there really be gator-hungry sharks lurking in the St. John's River? These stories and so many more await when you explore the Forgotten Tales of Florida.

Drift back to an era when the speed limit in Milwaukee was an edgy four miles per hour and Madison lawmakers could poke at hogs to punctuate the tedium of legislative sessions. Martin Hintz makes even the slow times of the Badger State fly by in this collection of Wisconsin's forgotten memories. Taste the world's first batch of pink lemonade (made with the dye of a circus performer's pants) and witness the tragic death of the world's last wild passenger pigeon. Track down ancient Algonkin legends like the great serpent that swam up the Mississippi looking for copper, and drop in on modern legends like Les Paul, whose guitar spun records into gold.

The Tales That Made St. Louis  

St. Louis may be known as the Gateway to the West, but its history holds many stories buried through time that show a different side. Discover which Hollywood leading man and heartthrob originated the custom of leaving a chocolate on a hotel pillow. Learn which high school was named after a senator who was nearly beaten to death on the senate floor. Puzzle  over the lavish dinner party held in a sewer, and be amazed to find a masterpiece hidden in the ceiling of a U-Haul building. Author and historian Mark Zeman unveils the forgotten history of St. Louis.